Buffing machine



Jan. 3, 1933. R, UZARDQ l l 1,893,424

' BUFFING'MACHINE Filed April 30. 1927 l 3 Sheets-Sheet l attotwzqo Jan. 3, 1933.

R. LuzARDo BUFFING MACHINE Filed Ap'ril SQ. 1927 s sheets-sheet 2 k?. azi/aaa Jan. 3, 1933.

R. LUzARDo 1,893,424

BUFFING MACHINE A Filed April 30. 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 f/ F/G am@ f \\..1.....

Suor new Patented Jan. l3, 1933 RUDOLCPIH LUZARDO, OF N'EW YORK, N. Y. I

BUFFING MACHINE Application led April 3Q,

This invention relates in general to buiiing apparatus and more particularly has reference to a leather bufiing machine.

Previous to this time it has generally been 5 customary in the process of buliing leather,

to first subject the leather to heat and subsequently to the action of a hemispherical buffer covered with some suitable abrasive substance. The leather has been manually impressed on the abrasive surface of the buffer and the fineness of the product has depended entirely upon the skill of the operator. It is obvious that such crude methods of treatment have embodied certain fundamental. disadvantages that have given rise to a considerable Waste of material and the production of leather of doubtful value.

In the course of preparation of leather by such methods unless the heating and buhng steps of the process are attended by extreme caution the material `may be scorched or.

burnt by uneven heat being applied or ruined by too great a pressure being exerted at one point to abrade the leather to too great an extent or wear it completely through. Besides the danger of seriously damaging or spoiling the leather it is exceedingly dif icult to buii a surface evenly by this method especially if the stock is of varying or uneven thickness.y

Among the objects of this invention is the provision of a buiiing machine adapted to overcome the disadvantages hereinbefore enumerated, which attended prior art devices, adapted to eliminate manual operation and safely heat and uniformly buff the surface of leather, and obviate the Waste portion and spoiled part of the product heretofore encountered.

More specifically it is an object of this invention to provide a buiiing machine adapted to heat material in the course of the buhng process.

Another object of this invention is to provide a buiing machine adapted to impart a uniform buff surface irrespective of variations in the thickness of the material.

A further object of this invention is to provide a buing machine adapted to have 1927. serieu No. 187,855.

the several elements of its mechanism operated by a single source of power.

With these and other objects in view which may be incident to my improvements, the invention consists in the parts and combinations to be hereinafter set forth and claimed, with the understanding that the several necessary elements comprising my invention, may be varied in construction, proportions and arrangement, Without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

In order to make my invention more clearly understood, I have shown in the accompanying drawings means vfor vcarrying the same into practical effect, without limiting the improvements in their useful applications to the particular construction, which for the purpose of explanation, have been made the subject of illustration.

In the drawings forming apart of this specification Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the bufling machine forming the subject matter of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the bufing machine. 75

Fig. '3 is a front elevation sectional View of the buing machine taken on line 3 3 of Figure 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmental cross sectional view of the end of the compressible cylinder.

Fig. 5 is a fragmental longitudinal sectional view of the compressible cylinder.

Fig. 6 is a fragmental end vievvr showing the pressure regulating mechanism on the compressible cylinder.

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view of the pressure regulating mechanism.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation sectional view of the heating cylinder adjustment mechanism taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 3. 90

Fig. 9 isa vertical transverse view of the contact mechanism for the heating cylinder taken on line 9,-9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. l0 is a side elevation sectional view of the contact mechanism for the heating 95 cylinder.

Referring by numerals to the several views in the drawings in which the same and similar elements are designate-d by like symbols of reference throughout and more partic- 100 matter of this invention.

The buifing mechanism comprises a base 1 having mounted thereon .a rectangularA frame formed of corresponding sections, preferably cast in a single piece, having vertical sections 2 and 3 connected at the bottom by horizontal sections 4 and at the top by horizontal sections 5. The horizontal sections 4 and 5 are centrally formed by vertical sections 6 which are also preferably cast integral with the whole of the supporting structure. It is preferred that the respective sections be formed as angle irons to impart greater rigidity to the supporting structure than otherwise would be attained.

Mounted on the top horizontal sections 5 is a table 7 forming a Working surface for the. material to vbe abraded by the machine. The table 7 may be cast integral with the supporting structure if so desired or may be connected thereto in any suitable manner.

. The vertical sections 2 and 3 formed with integral extensions 8 and 9 on their inner sides, have apertures adapted to receive transverse connecting rods 1l and 12. The longitudinal sections 5 are formed with downwardly extending integral extensions 13 and 14 vertically channeled to receive braces 15 and 16. Near the 1ends of the horizontal sections 5 are provided transverse semicylindrical grooves 17 and 18 adapted to seat the respective ends of shafts 19 and 21. The shafts 19 and 21 are secured to the top sections 5 by split bearings 22 and 23 fastened on the sections in any suitable manner.

The shafts 19 and 21 are adapted to serve as axles for a set of cylinders 24 and 25 spaced from the ends of the table 7 The pulleys 26 and 27, as shown in Figure 2, are keyed on the ends of the shafts 19 and 21 and connected by a flexible driving mechanism 28. There is also keyed on the shaft 21 a pulley `13() connected to a prime mover by a flexible driving mechanism 31.,

' The ends of the top surface of table 7 are arcuately faced as at 32, better illustrated in Fig. 1, to conform with the surface of the cylinders 24 and 25.

The braces 15 and 16 are vertically bored to receive rods 33 and 34. The rods 33 and 34 are threaded in the braces 15 and 16 and are connected at their other ends to beveled gears 35 and 36 as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3. The gears 35 are adapted to mesh with similar gears 37 mounted near the ends of the connecting rod 11. There is also mounted on the connecting rod 11 a beveled gear 38 adapted to mesh with a similar gear 39 mounted on one end of a longitudinal connecting rod 41. The connecting rod 41 extends through bearings 42 mounted on the frame and is provided at the other end with a beveled gear 43 adapted to mesh with a similar gear 44 mounted on the rod 12.

- There is also mounted on the rod 12 beveled gears 45 adapted to mesh with the gears 36 braces 15 and 16, may be concomitantly raised or lowered through the gearing arrangement on the transverse connecting rods 11 and 12 and the longitudinal connecting rod 41.

The braces 15 and 16 are flanged at the top forming angular arms 51 and 52 adapted to act as stop means for axle 53 and-` the segmental axle 54 of a heat cylinder 55l and a buin cylinder 56 respectively. The axle 53 is a apted to move in a vertically apertured rack 57 suitably mounted on the longitudinal section 5 of the support structure or f cast integral with the split bearing 22 if so desired.

There is mounted on one end of the shaft 53 a gear 58, held by collars 531 and 7 01 keyed on the shaft, adapted to engage the teeth in the rack 57 and on the other end is 4mounted a gear 59 in the same manner. The gear 59 is adapted to engage the teeth of a rack 61 similarly mounted on the opposite section 5 of the support structure. The gear 59 is also designed to engage the teeth of a rack 62 oppositely disposed to the rack 61 adapted to slide in, and insulated from, a plurality of channel guides 63 and 64 mounted on the vertical section 5 as shown in Figure 2, and is provided at the lower end with an insulated handle 65 for raising and lowering the rack.

The cylinder 55 is adapted to rotateindependently of the shaft 53, so that by raising or lowering the rack 62 and thus engaging the gear 59 mounted on the shaft 53, the gear 58 similarly mounted on the other end will engage the teeth in the rack 57 and the shaft and cylinder may be raised or lowered within the limits allowed by the top of the rack 57 and the stop arms 51 on the braces 15.

The cylinder 55 is provided with an internal heating coil 66 as illustrated in Figure 3, suitably insulated from the cylinder by any suitable material 67.v One end of the coil 66 is grounded to the frame of the machine and l the other end is suitably connected to the shaft 53 by means of a flexible conductor 68. Current is introduced in the shaft 53 as shown in Figure 10,through a conductor 71 ball 4bearing structure is mounted in a collar 76 formed integral with a curved arm 77 adapted to received the conductor 71. The arm 77 is insulated from the conductor 71 by any suitable insulating material 72, and the inner face of the collar insulated in the same manner from the outer ball race 73.

A casing 78 designed to slide on the rack 61, insulated by any suitable material 79, .is formed on the end of the`curved arm 77.

The rack 61, as shown in Figures 3 and 9, is formed on the inner face with a communicating groove 81 and bore 82 adapted to receive a conductor 83. The conductor 83 in .the bore is insulated from the rack by an inlsulating material 84 similar to the material The conductor 71 in the arm 77 is adapted to be connected to the extended conductor 85 by a flexible conductor 86. The conductor 85 is designed to contact with the conductor 83 in the bore and is insulated from-the groove 8l by suitable insulating material 87, similar to the material 84.

It may be readily seen by this arrangement that the casing 78 may readily slide up 'and down the rack 61 and current mtroduced into the shaft 53. The end of the central conductor 83 is adapted to be connected at the end of the rack 61 to a source ot current, in any suitable manner.

The arms 52 on the braces 16 on -the opposite end of the machine are adapted to act as stop means for the shaft 54 acting as an axle for the buiiing cylinder 56 as shown in Figures 1 and 2. A plurality of pinions 121 are iixedly mounted near the ends of the axle 54, and adapted to engage teeth in closed arcuate racks 88. Each arcuate rack 88 is formed with an angular shoulder 89 adapted to be suitably mounted to the supporting structure on the rear of the machine. There are formed on the opposite extensions 89, in addition to corresponding racks 88, angular shoulders 91 having vertical extending arms 92. The arms 92 are provided at the ends with collars 93 designed to act as bearings for shafts 94. The shafts 94 are axles for pulleys 95 and 96 and pulleys 95a and 96a.

The pulley 95 is connected to the pulley 29 on the shaft 54 by a belt 97, as shown in Figure 2, and the corresponding pulley 96 is connected by a belt 98 to a manually operated mechanism (not shown) designed to position the bufn cylinder 56 in the racks 58 by actuating s aft 54 and lpinions 121 through the belts and pulleys indicated.

The pulley 96a on the opposite side is connected by a belt 100 to a source of power (not shown), and by means of adjacent pulley 95a and belt 97a drives a pulley 29a which is keyed to oneend of a sleeve 90 loosely mounted on shaft 54 and rigidly attached to the rear end of cylinder 56. This arrangement permits the cylinder to be positioned in the racks 88 as the pinions 121 are manually operated and have no interaction with l the mechanism normally driving Athe buiing cylinder.

The compressible cylinder 25 is formed with aplurality of rectangularly spaced projections 99 having central apertures 101 as shown in Figure 4. The `apertures 101 are adapted to receive piston rods 102 slidably engaged therein having mounted on the inner end piston members 103 and on the outer end rectangular blocks 104. The piston members 103 are adapted to be seated in individual cylinder casings 106 mounted on the inner side of the cylinder and provided with central apertures 107 coaxial with the apertures 101 to receive the piston rods 102.

The cylinder 25 is adapted to be hermetiycally sealed and the pistons 103 held outward by air pressure. The air may be introduced into the cylinder through one section of the hollow in axle 21, as shown in Figure 5. The hollow shaft 21"may be connected to a fixed fluid pressure supply conduit by means ofA la suitable swivel joint, not shown.

The compressible cylinder 25 as shown in Fig. 5 is adapted to rotate on an integral shoulder -111 having formed on the end a col` lar 112. The shaft 21 is adapted to extend through the shoulder 111 and be closely fitted by a shoulder 113 resting against the side of the cylinder and held therein by a' bushing 114 having a collar 115. The bushing 114 and the sleeve 113 are separated by any suitable packing 116 to insure an air tight joint.

The inner end of the air shaft 21 is provided with a conventional flutterl valve 126 to prevent return of air from the cylinder.

The opposite end of the cylinder 25 is provided with a central aperture having a downwardly extending wall portion 127 and a bottom 128. The bottom 128 is provided with a projection 129 to receive the shaft 21. On the face of the bottom portion 128 is formed an upwardly extending portion 131 forming at the end a channel guide 132 for a rack 133. The upwardly extending portion 131 is formed with an aperture 134 to admit the hollow arm 135. The opposite side Walls are formed with upwardly extending angular portions 136 to seat a magnet 137 having a core 138, and channel guides 139 for the opposite end ofthe rack 133.

lThe arm 135 having a collar 141, similar to the construction shown in Figure 10, is adapted to engage a tubular casing 142 coaxial with the shaft 21, and formed with a collar 143 at the end. The tubular portion 142 is provided with a downwardly extending reduced portion 144 adapted to be con,- nected to a source of current. The tubular portion. is provided with an aperture 145 coaxial with the axis of the tube 142 to receive the shaft 21. The conductor 140 in the casing of the hollow arm 135 is adapted to bev y current is introduced in the tubular portin 144 and carried to the magnet through the arm 135.

A contact member 147 is fixed tothe rack 133. slidably engaged in the channels 132 and y139 designed to contact with the core 138 of the magnet 137. 'A segmental rack 148 is adaptedV to engage the teeth of the rack` 133. The segmental rack 148 is pivoted on an axlel 150 and provided with a radial arm 149 and an angular arm 151 is ixedly connected or cast integral with the axle 150. The end of the arm 151 is provided l with a slot 152 adapted to receive a pin 153 seated in the end of a rack 1 54. The teeth of the rack 154 are adapted to engage a pinion `155 operat'ng a switch 156 adapted to contact with a rheostat coil 157. 'i

The end of the arm 149 is provided with an aperture 158 to receive one end of the iiexible member 159 havingthe other end secured to a rod 161. The rod 161 is; provided with a downwardly extending portion 162 adapted to secure a valve 163.

The valve 163 is prov' ded with a tapered portion 164 adapted to be seated in an out.- let 165 communicating with the interior of the cylinder 25. The outlet 165 is provided with an extension 166 having an aperture 167 adapted to receive and support the rod 161.

It may readily be seen that by this provfsion a consant pressure may be maintained in the cylinder 25. If the pressure becomes excessive the valve 1 63 will become unseated forcing the contact member from the core 138.` TWhen the pressure is suciently reduced the force of the magnet on the contact will overcome the pressure unseating the valve, and the valve will be reseated through the operation or" the racks 133 and 148. v

The flexible dr'ving mechanisms 100 and 31 are motivated by a single source of power (not shown). As the cylinders 24 and 25 must obviously operate at a considerably lower speed than the buiiing cylinder 56, the drivingmechani sm 31 is connected to a series of speed reduction gears 174 suitably incased in a housing 173. -The driving mechanisni 31 is connected to a pulley 177 mounted adjacent to the end reduction gear and a pulley 175 mounted adjacent to the primary gear is connected to the source of power by a flexible driving mechanism 176.

The pulley 96a, indirectly actuating the buffer 56, is connected to the source of power by the flexible driv'ng mechanism 10Q. In this manner the cylinders 24 and 25 may be operated at any suitable speed with respect to the buffer 56 from a single source of power. A

The operation of` this machine can be readily understood by iirst having reference to Figure 1. The leather or other material to be abraded is introduced between the cylinder 24 and the heating cylinder 55. The space between the two cylinders may be varied to comply with the thickness of the particular material by raising or lowering the heating cylinder 55=by operating the rack 62. The exact space desired is accurately set by turning the knob 46 to operate the stop arms 51 and 52. The dial 49 may be calibrated so lthat the correct adjustment may be easily attained.

The leather is simultaneously heated on introduction, by the heating cylinder 55. It is manifest that any desired heat may be obtained through any conventional rheostat arrangement in the line to the source of current.

The material is fed on the table 7 until it reaches the buiiing cylinder 56 where it is subjected to the abrasive action of any suitable material, such as emery cloth 105, attached in any suitable manner. `As the knob 46 concomitantly operates the stop braces 51 and 52 the space between the table 7 and the buffer 56 may be regulated in accordance withl the regulation of the receiving space formed by the cylinder 24 and the heating cylinder 55. r

As the buier rotates at a milch more rapid rate than do the cylinders 24 and 25 the material has a tendency to move more rapidly than the cylinders. 'I his is compensated for by the heating cylinder 55 which can only revolve as 'fast as the cylinder 24 and therefore acts as a retarding mechanism to maintain a constant feed of the material.

It the leather or other material is of uneven thickness 'the stock would be unevenlyy abraded by an even pressure against the buing surface. This is prevented by torining a compressible cylinder with the series of segmental blocks 144 held outward by ressure. The blocks are designed to con orm with the varying thickness of the material at each point. l

As the leather is subjected -to the action o the buiiing cylinder.. 56 it is carried by the compressible cylinder 25 where it is automatically discharged after the buiiing operation.

It is manifest that the cylinder 25 may be made up in the same manner as the cylinder 24 if so desired rather than as shown, or that the cylinder 55 need not be heated if so delimitations are clearly imposed by the appended claims.

I claim: 1. A buiiing machine comprising Superposed feeding cylinders, means to heat the upper cylinder, means to buil' material comprising an upper cylinder and a lower cylinder, said feeding cylinders being adapted to feed material to the buliing means and said bufhng means coacting to discharge material from the machine.

2. A buffing machine comprising superposed feeding cylinders, means to heat the upper cylinder, means to adjust the position of the superposed cylinders, means to buff material, said feeding cylinders being adapted to feed material to the said bufiing means and said buiiing means coacting to discharge material from the machine.

3. A bufiing machine comprising superposed feeding cylinders, means to buff material fed from the feeding cylinders comprising an upper cylinder and a lower cylinder said cylinders co-acting to discharge material from the machine and mea-ns to adjust the position of the two cylinders.

4. A buhng machine comprising superposed feeding cylinders, means for heating the upper cylinder, means to buff material fed from the feeding cylinders comprising an upper cylinder and a lower cylinder, said cylinders co-acting to discharge material from the machine and a joint operating mechanism to concomitantly x the space between the cylinders of two groups.

5. A bufHng machine comprising a table, -superposed feeding cylinders at one end of said table, means to heat one of said cylinders for imparting heat to the material, a buiiing cylinder at the other end of said table to receive material fed from the feeding cylinders, a cylinder positioned below the buliing cylinder and co-acting therewith to discharge ma-4 terial from the machine, and means to x the space between the cylinders of two groups.

6. A bufng machine comprising a table,

superposed feeding cylinders at one end of said table, means to heat one of said cylinders for imparting heat to material, a buflng cylinder at the other end of said table adapted to rotate at a higher rate of speed than said feeding cylinders and a cylinder positioned below said bung cylinder and co-acting therewith to receive material fed from the feeding cylinders and discharge material from the machine, saidco-acting cylinder comprising a closed cylindrical member, a shell on the cylindrical member formed of a plurality of material engaging surfaces and means to actuate the engaging surfaces.

7.. A bufling machin-'e comprising super-- posed feeding cylinders, buffng means adapted to receive material from the feeding cylinders having an upper cylinder adapted to r0- tate at a higher rate of speed than said feeding cylinders and a lower cylinder operatively connected to the lower feeding cylinder and adapted to rotate at the same rate of speed as said lower cylinder, saidv bulling means exerting a tension upon material and discharging it from the machine.

8.1m a bufiing machine, means to buff material, means to feed material to the bufling means and means included in said feeding means to heat material.

9. In a buling machine, superposed feeding cylinders, means to heat the upper cylinder and means to adjust the distance between the super-posed cylinders.

10. In a bufling machine, a table, means secured to said table to buff material comprising a lower cylinder and an upper cylinder, the upper cylinder being adapted to move in arcuate racks for buiing an extended surface of material positioned on the surface.

In 'testimony whereof I aliix my signature.

RUDOLPH LUZARDO. 

